The present invention relates to a door opener, which allows a user to open an inward swinging door utilizing their foot by stepping onto the opener, applying downward pressure for frictional engagement of the device and retracting their foot toward their body to pull the door open.
Doors are a common every day occurrence in houses, businesses and public venues. Doors are typically opened and closed with knobs, handles and pulls, which are well known in the art. Doors, and their associated opening mechanisms, are generally configured for operation by a user's hand, by either grasping and pulling or grasping and pushing. There are common occurrences, however, when utilizing one's hand to open or close a door is undesirable. For example, individuals with physical limitations may find it difficult to pull open a door utilizing a conventional knob or grasp handle. Individual's whose arms are frequently full, transporting a load or carrying objects, may often find it difficult to grasp and pull a knob or handle.
Further, it is generally undesirable to touch a doorknob or grasp with one's hand, particularly in settings where the handle or pull may be dirty or contaminated, such as in public restrooms. It is known and documented that a majority of individuals using public restrooms take precautionary measures to avoid skin contact with the restroom door upon exiting. For example, users will often use a paper towel to shield their hand when operating door hardware upon exiting a restroom. This fact is evident in the common placement of trash receptacles near public restroom doors for deposit of paper towels once the user has opened the door. When paper towels are not available, such as in restrooms only offering hand air dryers, users creatively manipulate inward swinging doors by shielding their hands with their clothing, kicking the door to “bounce” it open, or even waiting until someone else opens the door.
Efforts have been made to assist users in opening doors. There are many known types of door openers, including complex electrical mechanical apparatuses used on handicap accessible doors, pneumatic openers, hydraulic openers and the like. What is needed is a simple mechanical device, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and easy to use. For the most part, devices intended to assist a user in opening a door are expensive, cumbersome, prone to malfunction and easy to damage. Moreover, improper maintenance of complex door opening devices may result in user injury, damage to the door or door frame, and in some instances may prevent the door from being opened.
One effort to develop a simple mechanical device for opening a door is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application 20050005402 for a “Sanitary Door Opener” filed by Charles Moody. The Moody Application discloses a simple mechanical door pull, mounted near the bottom of a door. The pull is similar to a bin handle, commonly found on cabinetry, and is configured to allow the user to engage the pull with the toe of their shoe. The toe of the user's shoe is positioned under the pull into a concavity. The toe of the shoe engages the pull and the user retracts their leg swinging the door towards themselves. There are several obvious and inherent problems with this design. First, it requires the user to balance themselves on one leg while positioning the toe of their shoe under the pull. The user must then continue to balance themselves while retracting the leg. As the door is opened, the user may have to hop backwards to allow the door to swing wide enough to access. Another flaw with this design is that some users may have open-toed shoes, such as sandals, flip-flops, or open-toed dress shoes. When the user's toes are inserted into the device, the upper surface of their foot may be abraded, cut or injured. Moreover, dust, dirt and grime may build up inside of the device, which will transfer to the user's shoe, or foot.